Status Update

Hi Adventurers!

Long time no speak!

First of all: I'm alive, and the project is very much alive too!

I'm still a solo developer working on this project in my free time, so progress isn't lightning-fast, but it has been steady. It's always a huge boost to see that, even many months after the demo launched, people are still discovering it, trying it out, and sending me messages about how much they enjoyed it. Those messages help keep me going.

More Ways to Build Your Character

Let's get the bad news out of the way first: despite my original plans, you won't be able to transfer your demo characters from the demo into the full release. You'll need to recreate your favourite adventurers from scratch.

The reason is also the good news: since the demo launched, I've added and changed so much that supporting character and save file transfers would require a significant amount of development time that would be better spent finishing the game itself. It would likely also force compromises on some of the new traits, abilities, and classes that have been added along the way.

Many of those additions came directly from your feedback. The amount of suggestions, ideas, and observations you've shared has been incredible, and I can't overstate how valuable they've been throughout development.

A Journey Worth Remembering

So what have I actually been working on?

Over the last few weeks, alongside expanding the Character Creator, I've been filling the game with enough content for four additional chapters. I've also gone back through the first two chapters, adding new scenes, expanding existing ones, and making various improvements. Even players who know the demo well should encounter quite a few surprises, when playing the full game.

At this point, the game contains roughly six chapters' worth of content. The challenge now isn't creating more content, it's making sure everything works together properly, through multiple replays.

The current build contains a huge number of story permutations, character combinations, abilities, traits, and choices. That means a lot of testing, bug fixing, balancing, rewriting, and polishing before I'm comfortable calling it ready. The game is currently being played through again and again, with countless small improvements being made every week.

There's also still a mountain of artwork waiting for me. Many of the newer abilities and traits are currently using placeholder images, and replacing those remains a major task.

In short: there's still plenty of work left to do, but the finish line is becoming visible.

As for release plans, I'll share more concrete information at some point, in the coming months. What I can say now is that I will probably keep the initial release to around five or six chapters. Not because your party's story ends there definitively, but because I'd rather launch a stable, polished experience than endlessly expand the scope.

After release? My goal is to support the game with free content updates that add new chapters, new choices, new adventures. Once the full release is out, the underlying systems should be stable enough that you'll be able to continue using your already created characters throughout future content updates.

Hmm... Fireball or Fireball?

Content isn't the only thing that's been expanding, either. One of the most common requests from demo players was the ability to influence character growth more during the adventure itself. While I still want the majority of character-defining choices to happen during character creation, I agree that additional opportunities for development can make characters feel more personal to the player over time.

The first of these additions already exists in the demo: Spirit Points. Players can earn Spirit Points and spend them to help party members succeed at important skill checks. They're limited, so spend wisely.

The second addition will arrive with the full release: Spirit Influence.

Spirit Influence allows you to choose the next ability they learn from a list of options available to them. The options available will still depend on your character's experiences, choices, and personality, but you'll have greater control over which specializations and abilities they choose to pursue.

For example, if a warrior discovers a forgotten combat manual, you may be able to decide which fighting technique they focus on mastering.

It's a subtle system, but one that can have significant consequences. The challenges facing your party will demand different approaches, and every new specialization opens up new possibilities.

Until Next Time!

Phew. I need to get back to work.

Thank you, as always, for your support, patience, feedback, and enthusiasm. Development has been rather quiet lately, and it may stay that way for a few more weeks while I focus on getting the release build into shape, but progress is happening every day.

In the meantime, there are plenty of fantastic indie games out there worth discovering. If you're looking for recommendations, I highly recommend checking out Indie Game Joe on social media - he's constantly showcasing hidden gems that deserve far more attention!

Until the next update,

Dice